Godfather question that's always bothered me

Why does Vito let his daughter marry a punk like Carlo? The Corleones are social climbers, that's one of the main themes. Sure, Connie is hard headed, but he can make an offer Carlo can't refuse. He's done it before for less. Connie gets to be the jilted bride for a while, then gets married off to some nice college boy who won't ask too many questions about his inlaws' line of work.

quote:The Don has a sentimental weakness for his children and spoils them, as you can see.

Yeah. If you think about it, 3 out of his 4 children were pretty fricked up. Sonny was a hot head and couldn't control his temper. Connie had horrible taste in men. And Fredo, well, what can you say about Fredo. I don't think you can even pin that on his upbringing. But he was a mess.

Only Michael was fairly well adjusted till the toll of the family business got to him.

quote:And Fredo, well, what can you say about Fredo. I don't think you can even pin that on his upbringing. But he was a mess.

Don't you talk about Fredo! He's probably the most "normal" of the kids, and I like that of the 3 of 4 screwed up kids, you exclude the total sociopath. Mike is pretty much pure evil. He's the godfather without that love of family thing.

Fredo has jealousy issues, sure. He's just not a criminal at heart. He's a good natured guy who just wants to go fishing with the kids. He had no place in the criminal underworld. Fredo nurtured the goodness in himself, and only really saw the good in others. Unfortunately, he lived in reality in which most people had little to no goodness.

Sure, by the end Michael had gone to some really dark place. But at the beginning, he was pretty well adjusted.

Fredo was just weak and ineffective. Vito really should have set him up in some small legit enterprise outside of the true family business. Maybe running a small grocery or something. He was just never going to be able to cut it in the cutthroat world that the Corleone's operated in.

no. He wasn't. He was always evil. Mike is the one who suggests killing a cop, a near unbreakable taboo in his first foray into the Business. He is not the corrupted, he is always Corrupt. There is no fall from grace.

That's why the "that's my family, not me" line is so important. It is him. He was more ruthless than Vito ever dreamed of being himself.

Anyone ever read the Sicilian? The end of the book is where Michael goes home and talks to his father for the first time after hiding in Italy. He basically tells him that his first priority is to look after himself and keep himself alive, even if it means dishonor to anyone else.

I think that is where he became corrupted. Killing the officer was just to avenge his father.